On December 19, 2025, the Hudson Institute hosted an online forum titled “U.S.–Taiwan AI Cooperation and Challenges.” DSET CEO Dr. Jeremy Chih-Cheng Chang was invited to participate in the discussion on the implications of the artificial intelligence era. The panel was moderated by Mr. Riley Walters, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and featured additional speakers from Taiwan.
During the forum, Dr. Chang emphasized that Taiwan is an “irreplaceable and indispensable” strategic partner for the United States and its allies. He stressed that competition in artificial intelligence is not merely a contest over chips, but a comprehensive race across the entire ecosystem, including materials, equipment, packaging, and manufacturing platforms. Taiwan, he noted, possesses a complete ICT and electronics manufacturing ecosystem and, together with China, accounts for approximately 80–90 percent of global printed circuit board (PCB) production—forming a critical foundation for AI hardware operations. Given that China is the only actor capable of potentially replacing Taiwan’s manufacturing role, maintaining Taiwan as an efficient and sustainable manufacturing ecosystem will directly shape whether democratic allies can preserve their competitive edge in global technological competition.
Dr. Chang cited DSET’s report The Great Siege: The PRC’s Comprehensive Strategy to Dominate Foundational Chips, which documents China’s unfair industrial policies driven by state-level subsidies from the central government. He warned that such practices generate systemic risks by creating market overcapacity and crowding out competitors worldwide.
Dr. Chang further called on Washington to move beyond reliance on export controls alone in advancing reindustrialization efforts. He argued for a broader set of economic governance tools, including scenario-based exercises to gather empirical evidence and the development of more targeted policies such as investment screening mechanisms, in order to safeguard the technological advantages of the democratic alliance. He also underscored that Taiwan can serve as a core partner across a wide range of technology and security initiatives in ways that align with U.S. strategic interests.
In response to a question from moderator Riley Walters regarding the relocation of Taiwanese production capacity, Dr. Chang stated plainly that “strengthening mutual interdependence between the United States and Taiwan is a win-win solution.” He expressed support for Taiwan assisting the United States in advancing reindustrialization, noting that “only when the United States possesses robust industrial capacity can it fulfill its role as the ‘arsenal of democracy’ and lead its allies in winning global competition.”
